Guns
by StormWolf10
Summary: After Bad Wolf Bay, the duplicate Doctor and Rose don't get off to the perfect start after something about how Rose acted raises a few questions with the Doctor... **Can be seen as a prequel to Organic Farming**


The Doctor and Rose were sat on the zeppelin in silence. Jackie had wandered off to the onboard café to get some food, leaving her daughter to talk to the Doctor. However, the silence they had descended into was uncomfortable, and neither of them would look the other in the eye. They were confused; they both knew how the other felt about them, and they'd even had that kiss on the beach, but that didn't change the fact that they hadn't seen each other for three years, and they'd both grown older in that time. There were things they needed to sort out. Finally, the Doctor decided to break the silence.

"I don't like guns, you know,"

Rose blinked, and looked over at him, brow furrowing in confusion.

"I know," she replied "why are you telling me this?"

"You had a gun." He answered simply, not looking at her. "Earlier, in the TARDIS. You had a gun."

"Oh." Rose replied, realising.

"Yeah." The Doctor said curtly.

They fell back into an uncomfortable silence.

**~StormWolf10~**

When they finally reached the Tyler Mansion, Rose headed inside to see her little brother, but she insisted that they wouldn't stay long.

"'We'?" the Doctor echoed, frowning.

"Well, yeah," Rose answered, slightly confused "we'll go back to my apartment in an hour or two."

The Doctor nodded, although he was slightly confused- they had barely spoken since he'd mentioned Rose having a gun on the zeppelin, so he hadn't been expecting to stay at Rose's apartment with her. Then again, he hadn't realised Rose _had_ an apartment.

"Would you two like a cup of tea?" Jackie asked the Doctor and Rose suddenly.

"Yes, please, Jackie," the Doctor answered, smiling uncertainly.

Rose nodded, lifting three year old Tony into her arms. Jackie smiled back and hurried off to the kitchen.

"So, Doctor," Pete announced, smiling "what exactly happened? I mean, Jackie did explain on the phone, but she didn't sound too certain herself."

"Well," the Doctor replied, following Rose and Pete into the sitting room "I was travelling with this woman called Donna…"

**~StormWolf10~**

The Doctor and Rose left the Tyler Mansion just over an hour later, and Rose had barely spoken to him. They were driving back to Rose's apartment in her little blue Clio that she'd left at her parents' when she'd gone back to the other Universe. They were almost at the apartment block when Rose spoke.

"I didn't want to have to carry a gun."

"Sorry?" the Doctor asked, looking over at her.

"I didn't want to have to carry a gun. It's Torchwood policy. I was on a Field Team, so I had to have one. I tried to refuse at first, and I even got away with it, but…Well, stuff happened, and Mum got Dad to make me carry a gun." Rose explained evasively.

"What happened? What stuff?" the Doctor demanded, frowning.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Rose replied coolly.

"Rose," the Doctor ground out, glaring at her now "you know how to fire and reload a gun. You seemed pretty comfortable holding said gun, and you didn't learn that from me or Jack. So what's going on?"

"Doctor, I said I didn't want to talk about it!" Rose snapped, gritting her teeth and focusing on the road.

The Doctor sighed and muttered something about her being a 'stupid, stubborn ape', to which Rose muttered something about how he was a 'stupid ape' now, too.

**~StormWolf10~**

The Doctor lay awkwardly on top of the duvet in his t-shirt and boxer-briefs. Rose was bundling up the clothes she had been wearing, which she then deposited in the washing hamper at the foot of the bed. She was dressed now only in a vest top and shorts, and she quickly joined the Doctor on top of the covers. Rose's apartment only had one bedroom, and as much as she was annoyed at him, Rose hadn't wanted the Doctor to sleep on the sofa after the day he'd had. The Doctor hadn't wanted Rose to give her bed up for him, so they'd ended up sharing.

"What's that?" the Doctor asked suddenly, frowning as he sat up, staring at Rose's upper left thigh.

"That's the reason Mum and Dad made me start using a gun on Field Missions." Rose replied glumly, not even bothering to look at what the Doctor was staring at.

"You were shot?" he asked quietly, gently reaching out to brush his fingers over the small scar on her leg.

Rose nodded.

"Yeah. And it wasn't even by an alien. It was just some stupid bloke who thought he could get away with selling alien tech on the Black Market. We tracked him down, I confronted him, he shot me."

"Rose," the Doctor breathed, in shock.

"It was lucky I was in such a good Field Team; they got me back to Torchwood. I had to have a few blood transfusions and an emergency operation. I was out of it for hours, because of the blood loss. When I woke up, I…Well, I'd never seen my Mum so scared. Apparently, for a while in surgery it had been touch and go. I was off work for weeks, could barely move my leg. Mum and Dad made me move back in with them for a while, I think because Mum was worried something would happen if I were here on my own. After that, the only way Dad would let me back on a Field Team was to do weapons training. I had to say yes; Torchwood was the only chance I'd have to be able to find you again." Rose explained, staring resolutely at the ceiling as she spoke.

The Doctor took a deep breath, tears in his eyes.

"I…I'm sorry about earlier." He told her quietly "I shouldn't have pushed you to tell me."

Rose shook her head.

"No. I should have told you before. You have a right to know." She answered.

"But I didn't want to upset you." He replied quickly "You must hate me right now, and I can't say I blame you."

"I don't, Doctor," Rose told him, finally looking at him.

"I'm still the Doctor then?" the Doctor asked, grinning as he remembered having the very same conversation with Rose after his regeneration.

"No arguments from me," she replied, smiling back.

The two fell into silence again, although this time it was a much more companionable, content silence.

"I don't wanna go back to Torchwood." Rose admitted suddenly, quietly.

"Then don't." the Doctor answered softly.

"But what will we do for money?" Rose asked, frowning.

"You let me worry about that. I meant what I said on the beach. I love you, Rose Tyler, and I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. So you quit Torchwood, and you let me handle the money, ok? We'll be alright. I'll make sure of it." The Doctor assured her.

"'Kay," Rose mumbled tiredly.

The Doctor kissed her gently on the forehead and, a few minutes later, both were asleep.


End file.
